Council gives value for money - official

Auditors, KPMG, have returned an unqualified value-for-money conclusion for Boston Borough Council for 2012/13.

They were satisfied that the council had proper arrangements for securing financial resilience and is challenging how it secures economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

The auditors considered financial governance, financial planning and financial control processes plus how the council prioritises resources and is improving efficiency and productivity.

Key business risks relevant to the value-for-money conclusion were that achievement of the authority's budget required a savings programme totalling £0.344million and the council's estimation that another £0.411million savings need to be achieved during 2013/14 to 2016/17 to address further reductions to local authority funding.

The auditors were satisfied that sufficient work in relation to this risk had been carried out and they did not need to carry out any specific additional work themselves.

An unqualified opinion on financial statements was issued on September 30, 2013. Financial statements were found to give a true and fair view of the financial position of the authority and of its expenditure and income for the year.

No high priority recommendations raised.

The final fee for the 2012/13 audit was £57,906 compared to an indicative fee of £65,448 - and an overall reduction of 40 percent on the comparative total fee for 2011/12 of £96,510. This reflects reductions made nationally by the Audit Commission to its scale fees and a fee rebate issued for 2011/12.

Cllr Raymond Singleton-McGuire, the council's finance portfolio holder, said: "The Council must be run as a business and, more than ever, every penny must be now be accountable to protect public services for the benefit of the local taxpayer.

"The auditors have recognised the robustness of the council and its solid footings facing a forward challenging and changing economy."